Heel



P 9, 1941- H. s. LYNESS 2,255,177

HEEL

Filed Oct. 5, 1959 Patented Sept. 9, 1941 HEEL- -Horatio "S. 1Lyness, Lynn,, .:Mass.,,-rassi'gnor to Unitedishoe Machinery Gorporation;,- Elemingg Applic'ationfictobcr 5, 1939; Serial No 298,067

This invention relates tocovered wood heels which have the peripheralportions-of" their attaching faces in direct contact with the counter portions of uppers of shoes to which they areattached.

In the manufacture of womens-- shoes having wood heels, for. example, itis desirable that the entire rim of the attaching face of the heel; which rim lies in a plane; shall snugly engage the counter portion of the shoe, thereby forming a closed joint between theiheel'andsaid counter port-ion.

Because of defects in workmanship it frequentlyhappens that the portion "of the shoe counter 'to be engaged'by the heel does not'lie-ina plane, with the result that open gapsare sometimes formed ,between the counter portion of the finished shoeand the attached'heel'of the shoe.

With the. above considerationsin .view-it -is sometimes the practice to mold .the; fitted; heel seat of the shoe to apredeterminedshapg-by-the use of a heel-seat-formingf machine and/onto awl-up low portions'of theheel seatjust fprior to attaching'the heel'to the shoe. .The above corrective operationsincrease the costof theshoe and do not always permanently eliminate the formation ofthe above-mentioned open gaps'between the counter portion of the-finished-shoe and the heel of the shoe.

'In order to insure that the entire rimof the I attaching face of the heel shall snug-lyengage the counter-portion of the shoe there i provided,

.in accordance with a feature f'the 'present "in "vent-ion, a heel having a thin strip 'of resilient, conformable-material such; for example, asrela tively'firm rubber, interposed-between the margin of the attaching face of the heel and a margin of a heel "cover inturned upon and secured to 7 said attaching face, said" strip extending to but not substantially beyond-the rim of said attaching face.

During the heel-attaching operation the strip of rubber is compressed as the margin-of the attaching f ace is --f orced' against high areas ofthe overlasted counter portion of the shoe, thereby enabling the margin ofthe attaching face of the heel to be forced against the low areas of the overlasted counter portion of the shoe. When the heel is forced against the fitted heel seat of the shoe, the rubber strip, which is confined between the attaching face of the heel and the cover margin inturned upon and secured to said attaching face, is compressed, causing the inturned cover margin in the vicinity of the rim of the attaching face of the heel to flow toward and into close proximity to the break line of the counter joint of neat'appearance is-"f0rmed between the entire counter portion and the attached-heel of the "shoe. 'I'haheel' engages-substantiallythe entire overlasted counter; portion of the shoe which, together with-aheeI-seattab formed on the fattachedsoleof the shoe, provides a suitable base to which the heel maybe effectively attached. *By providing the above heel it has been found that "the-common tendency of wood'heels to break under the" pressure applied during the heel-attaching operation has been practically eliminated.

The various-features of the invention will be understood and "appreciated from the following detailed description'read in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which- -Fig. 1 is a perspective View of'an illustrative heel-a portionof the covering of-which has been -brokenawayy r Fig; 2 is a perspective view of the rear end of a shoe to-which the heel of Fig.1 has-been applied, the heelseat of the shoe being shown in dotted "lines; -Fig 3-is a section on plane fil -III of Fig. 2

Fig. 4 is an enlarged-view showing in section a marginal portion of-the heel of Fig. l' after it has been positioned upon the shoe-but-before it. has been forced with attaching pressure against the heel seat-0f the shoe; v v

'Fig.-'5-is aview similarto-Fig. 4' but showing j the heel afterfit has been attached tothe shoe;

\ -Fig. 6 isaview-correspondingto but showingvin sectionthe marginal portion'of'a 3 5 s1ightly modified heel which -is positioned upon the heelseatof the shoe preparatory to its attachment tothef shoe; and

Fig. 7 is a-view of the heel and shoe illustrated in Fig. 6 after the heel has been attached to the shoe. I i

'l The illustrative-covered wood heels 2!! (Figs; 1 -;to' 5; inclusive) '22 (Figs. 6' and 7), are described with reference to' their-attachment to the2p19- V pared heel seat 24:"(Fig. 2) ofa shoe 26. Inac- 'coiriance with" common "practice the L=heel-seat portion of an attached sOle 28 of the shoe 26 is reduced to provide a heel-seat tab 30 (Figs. 2

and 3) which serves as a base to which the heel has been positioned shoebut before the heel has been forced with atportion of the shoe. Whe n 'heel and the inturned margin I cover margin to flow into voids 52 formed I tween the heel and'the heel seat of the shoe and tinuous with the outside surface is inturned upon and adhesively secured to the strip 36 and to the attaching face 38 of the heel. In accordance with the usual procedure the forward and lower projecting margins ofthe cover are inturned upon and secured to the breast and the top-lift-receiving faces, respectively, of the heel. A top lift 44 is later nailed or otherwise secured to the heel.

Fig. 4 illustrates the relative positions of the covered heel 28 and theshoe 26 after the heel upon the heel seat 24 of the taching pressure against said heel seat. It, will be noted that at this stage of the heel-attaching operation a gap 46 is formed between the heel and the break line 48 of the overlasted counter the heel 20 is forced with attaching pressure against the heel seat 24 of the shoe (Figs. 3 and 5) the rubber strip 36 confined between the attaching face 38 of the 42 of the cover is compressed, causing the resiliently backed-up also to flow toward the break line 48 of the counter portion of the shoe. By interposing the strip 36 of relatively firm but conformable material between the attaching face 38 of the heel and the inturned cover margin that during the heel-attaching operation the heelcoveris moved outward into approximate engagement with the break line 48 of the counter portion of the shoe so as to form between the counter portion and the heel a closed joint 54 (Figs. 3 and-5) the outside surface of the covered heel of the finished shoe being practically conof the counter portion of the shoe.

It frequently happens, during the attachment of covered wood heels of the conventional type to shoes, that the heel is broken along the rim of its attaching face. When the heel 26 is forced against the heel-seat p0rtion'24 of the-shoe 26 ithas been found that the rubber strip 36 cushions and distributes the pressure of the heel against the heel seat with the result that such a heel is almost never broken during its attachment to the shoe.

The heel 22 shown in Figs. 6 and 7 has a shallow U-shaped rabbet 56 formed in the margin of its attaching face 58,and adhesively secured in therabbet is a U-shaped strip 66 of relatively firm but conformable material. The strip 66 projects slightly above an adjacent portion of 42 it has been found 1 and the inturned cover margin 66 is compressed,

causing a small bead 68 (Fig. '7) of the cover margin 66 backed up by the strip 60 to be moved into approximate engagement with the break line 48 of the overlasted counter portion of the shoe, thereby forming between the counter portion of the shoe and its attached heel a closed joint 10 which is of neat appearance.

Having described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the Unitedstates is:

1. A rigid heel having secured to its rear and side faces a cover a margin of which is inturned upon and secured to the attaching face of the heel, said heel having a thin strip of resilient conformable material interposed between the margin of its attaching face and a portion of the inturned cover margin, said-strip extending to but not substantially beyond the rim of said attaching face and being adapted to force, during the attachment of the heel to a shoe, the cover of the. heel outwardly toward a break line of the counter of the shoe thereby closing any open gap which otherwise would appear between the counter portion of the finished shoe and its attached heel.

2. A rigid heel having in the rear and side -margins of its attaching face a shallow rabbet,

. to'its rear and side faces a cover a margin of face of the heel,

which is inturned upon and secured to said strip of conformable material and to the attaching said strip being adapted to force, during the attachment ofthe heel to a shoe, the cover of the heel outwardly toward a break line of the counter of the shoe thereby closing any otherwise would appear between attached heel.

3. A rigid heel having in the rear and side margins of its attaching face a shallow U-shaped rabbet, and a thin U-shaped strip of resilient conformable material which -is arranged in the rabbet and which projects above the attaching face of the heel and extends to but not substantially beyond the rim of said attaching face, said heel having secured to its rear and side faces a cover a margin of which is inturned upon and secured to said strip of conformable material and to the attaching face of the heel.

HORATIO S. LYNESS. 

